Brothers at War: Theologically Reflecting on Race

In moments of confusion and uncertainty, moments that cut to the heart and cause man to question the goodness of God, it is good that man seek God above all else. I often have to remind myself of this truth. Evil actions of men in this world such as the recent murders of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, five Dallas policemen, and three Baton Rouge policemen, make my heart sink. To see the image of God, men and women, murdered and marred because of prejudice, hate, or revenge should cause the hearts of all men and women to be sorrowful. Our hearts should break seeing this division and malice, as our God is not a God of chaos[1] and hate, but a God of order[2] and love[3].

Whenever my heart is overwhelmed with sadness and confusion, I look for answers. I want an answer that explains the evil that we as humans see and experience. These recent murders have caused me to deeply meditate on modern racism and racial strife. Racism is a despicable thing in and of itself, for racism, at its core, denies the created order that God ordained as “very good.”[4] For, God created all men and women in his very image, as his very own children.[5] No human life escapes the dignity and value that comes with being born and fashioned in the image of God. And, if every human is made in the image of God it is not wrong to say that every human belongs to the same divine race.

Most rational, educated persons can tell you that there is only one true race in the world: the human race. Soledad O’Brien in her Q Commons talk on race in America quipped, “Race does not exist. I am not trying to be clever…biologically speaking, genetically speaking, there is only one race.” She’s right. Scientifically, it has been proven that all humans biologically and genetically descend from the same ancestors. And, this is theologically correct as well, for the Bible teaches that humans are all descendants of Adam and Eve. Boethius, the fifth century theologian also states, “All mankind comes from the same stock.”[6] So why do social, cultural, and physical differences cause man to believe that there are literally many races?

Racism and slavery in their essence are results of the fall of our parents, Adam and Eve. Because, Adam and Eve, as our representative heads, fought against our true Father, the Triune God, mankind was thus divided.[7] Mankind now fights and bickers in continual cycles of animosity, because its parents first bickered and disobeyed God, their Creator. Racism points to an inherently deeper issue: mankind’s sinful nature. Christianity thus claims that our first parent’s original sin is placed on the following generations. All of Adam and Eve’s children, all humans, receive an inherently self-centered nature, and this manifest itself in many ways; one way being racism.

It seems that story of Cain and Abel, the actual first children of Adam and Eve, was in some way prophetic.[8] Socially constructed races, who are brothers of the same family, look to others and are filled with envy, jealousy, and anger. And, instead of working together, races attack, murder, and enslave those they envy or those by whom they feel threatened. Like Cain, different races and societies lift the stone of jealousy and strike down the brother they envy or dislike.

This cycle of animosity has never stopped. Think on mankind’s history. Most great people groups have created enmity within themselves, brother against brothers. Noah’s son’s Ham (Africa & Southwest Asia), Shem (Middle East), and Japheth (Europe & Asia) divided from each other and they fought and enslaved each other.[9] Isaac (Israel) and Ishmael (Palestine) bickered and fought for Abraham’s birthright and land, and they continue to fight to this very day.[10] Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) fought for favor with their father.[11] Joseph was hated by his brothers, and his brother’s wanted to murder him but settled to sell him as mere property, as a slave.[12] Even in the myth of the founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers, fight over where the city would be founded. The arguing ended with Romulus killing Remus. Brothers always seem to be at war. And God, both through his divinely inspired word and through history, teaches us that it is in man’s sinful nature to continue this cycle of animosity, jealousy, and division. This division continues even unto today.

Societies bicker. Nations war. Cultures clash. Races hold prejudices. The cycle continues. In America, whites accuse black communities of fueling gang warfare and violence against police. Blacks accuse white communities of institutionally binding them down while stealing their culture. Broad generalizations are used as arrows in the quivers of social media warriors. Complex issues are foolishly compressed into ammunition to be fired at the enemy. The cycle continues. Brothers are still at war; the fighting continues and anger grows. Sin has taken its hold on us and will not let go; evil has a firm grasp, and it will not relent.

Let me first say, that I do not have definitive answers for these complex and divisive issues. The black community has truly been hurt by present and past American institutions, the War on Drugs is one prime example. This does not even scratch the surface of the past atrocities America committed against the black community in the evil known as slavery. Furthermore, white Americans do live with certain privileges. I as a white male will never understand the fear of being pulled over for my skin color; I will never understand the fear of getting a job application glanced over and thrown away because of an “ethnic” name. These are privileges I do live with. The black community has legitimate fears and concerns.

But, on the other hand, police officers have been targeted and killed while defending the free speech of those who are protesting them. And, many white men and women have been falsely generalized into the category of “ignorant.” This spurs white Americans to feel either ashamed or defensive. These two realities make the situation feel more like a war and less like a constructive conversation.

The solutions to national racial strife are not simple. The governmental action to be taken is still unknown. I can tell you a good place to start legislatively weeding out racial injustice, is researching candidates and voting for ones that include criminal justice reform in their platform; candidates who oppose the “War on Drugs” on the basis that it has caused an increase amount of black and Hispanic arrests and incarcerations over that of the white population; and candidates who would decriminalize drugs without legalizing them. (Yes, there is a difference.) These policy reforms would dramatically reduce the amount of racial profiling and injustice in America. And, if a candidate you vote for does not explicitly support these types of reform, write him as his constituent.

But, even though these legislative policies would most likely help eradicate certain racial injustices and disadvantages, they are not the answer to racial strife. Government has never been the answer and never will be the answer. Very simply, the government cannot legislate its citizen’s into true peace and community, because the government can never impose reconciliation. Reconciliation is not a concept that can be forced (legislated) onto two parties; reconciliation is in it’s nature voluntary. Therefore, I am of the opinion that the only way racial reconciliation can ever be truly achieved is in the person of Jesus Christ, and in his body, the Church.

And, although I do not have definitive answers to these complex issues, I do understand that the Church is the single greatest vehicle for racial reconciliation and communal problem solving among local, broken communities. For, in the Church mankind worships the God who became man (His enemy) to save them, the Creator who became creation to redeem that which was lost.

Christ became our brother to end humanity’s sibling rivalries and jealousy. Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of the Father, became fully man and partook in our humanity. Christ assumed our racial strife, our familial hatred, our sin. For, He was hated by his own family. He was hated by his own people, the Jews. He was scorned by the Romans. All of humanity stood before him on the cross and scoffed at him. As G.K. Chesterton noted, “All the great groups that stood about the Cross represent in one way or another the great historical truth of the time; that the world could not save itself.” Mankind killed its brother. We, as Cain, lifted our stone of jealousy and hatred and killed He who we envied. Jesus Christ, our Brother, offered a pure sacrifice to His Father, and we murdered him unjustly.

But, what mankind meant for evil, Christ meant for good. Joseph similarly stated to his brothers: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”[13] The story of Joseph was a foreshadowing of the story of Christ. Joseph’s brothers meant to harm, kill, and destroy him. But, Joseph rose from the depths of prison and was seated with the king and given power. Joseph used his power not to destroy his brothers and avenge his misfortune. Rather, Joseph gave his gifts to the very brothers who sought to kill him. Joseph was a mediator of divine reconciliation.

Jesus, as Joseph, is seated at the right hand of the Father and has been given all power under earth, on earth, and in heaven. And, Jesus does not condemn all of his brothers to the same death we gave Him. No, Christ gives us His very gifts. Jesus as our Mediator, heals our broken nature and restores our fellowship with God. Jesus wipes away the stain of original sin. He gives us his righteousness. He gives us eternal life. He gives mankind, Himself. And, he does this to heal that which is broken. Jesus became our brother, and suffered under our hate and scorn, in order that brothers may no longer fight.

Christ is our hope. And, this hope is not far off, but among us in the Church, which is the body of Jesus Christ, the head. The Church is his vehicle for racial and familial reconciliation. Local communities are able to partake in the nature of God. Communities that seek God together through the Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of His Holy Spirit can partake in real reconciliation. And local communities reconciling will lead to the nation being reconciled. For, in and through Christ we are equal. In Christ, men and women are not judged not by the color of their skin but by the virtue of his or her actions. In the communion of the Church mankind can be vulnerable and open, while theologically understanding that even redeemed humanity is still sinful and imperfect. And, in instances of imperfection, instances of ignorance and prejudice, the Church understands that it’s head, Christ, gives grace. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”[14] Thus, Christ ushers mankind into voluntary reconciliation; a reconciliation that pierces to the heart of man and changes their worldview.

The incarnation of Christ also teaches us that even the man you call your greatest enemy is still your brother, a co-participant in the human race, and an image bearer of your common Father, the Triune God. And, Christ did not merely “put up” with his enemy, he personally carried his enemy’s burden and emptied himself even to the point of human death.[15] Christ carried mankind’s burden, so that mankind would learn to carry each other’s burdens. Therefore, in the Church individuals are able to hear the burdens that other members have and help carry them.

In the life of the American Church, we as white Christians have the ability to help carry the burdens of racial injustice that our black brothers and sisters so often carry alone. Jesus Christ so lovingly carried our burdens, may it never be said that we did not do the same for our brothers. But how do we carry this burden? Well, I cannot tell you. But, ask your brothers and sisters of color with a humble spirit, listen to them, and they will tell you. And, this attitude will then be reciprocated. In a reconciling community men and women of every skin color and culture carry each other’s burdens: black, white, Asian, Latino, and Middle Eastern. In the Church individuals carry each others burdens because all of our members are our family, all of our members are our brothers and sisters. Humanity’s nature as one family, one divine race, is thus being restored. America, and the world alike, is yearning for a solution: the Church is that solution, but the Church needs to lead and show by example it is the best vehicle for reconciliation.

As C.S. Lewis reminds us in The Weight of Glory, “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken.” Only a society that seeks to be like Christ will find itself healing and reconciling. And, a society imitating Christ begins with local communities seeking Christ. And finally, communities striving to be morally just and loving can only be so if it’s individuals are. And that change starts with you and me seeking Christ in communion, community, prayer, and the preaching of the word. Love and seek God; pray for racial reconciliation and peace; and love your neighbor as yourself.

Academic: B.A. of Biblical Studies Interdisciplinary in Historical Theology from Moody Bible Institute - Spokane. Graduate & Member of the Ancient Christian Studies Honors Program under Dr. Jonathan Armstrong. My interests are Patristics and Literature in the two Oxford Movements, specifically St. Augustine, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and C.S. Lewis.
Personal: Married to my beautiful wife, Stephanie Augusta, and we live in the lovely state of New Hampshire. She is currently in nursing school at the Mass. College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and I currently work in the medical software industry at a company called, Settrax.